This is my first fanfic, so I hope you all enjoy it.

It will be a Pearlshipping fic so if you don't like that don't read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Ages:

Ash: 16

Dawn : 15

Brock : 20

I want to add this little note for any potential new readers to my story. The grammar and writing in the earlier chapters is far inferior to my current work, in time it will probably be beneficial for me to go back and revise and rewrite them, however I just don't feel the motivation to do that right now. If I can ask one thing its this - please try not to be put off by it, if you stick around until the latter half of this story, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Thanks /Tzhaa

Ash and Dawn: The Unova Chapter

Chapter 1 / Prologue

Parting Ways

Sinnoh Region – Twinleaf Town

Dawn sat on the harbor with puffy red eyes after crying for almost two hours.

The sun was starting to set. Everyone else had already left, leaving the blue haired coordinator alone with her sorrow.

She looked down to her side to see an equally tear-stained but concerned face looking up at her. Not even bothering to hide the emotions within, she said with a lump in her throat, "I can't believe he's really gone Piplup… I knew this day was coming… but now it's here it just doesn't feel real… I never even told him how I felt..."

"Piplup..." sighed the small penguin Pokémon at her side. He too had not been looking forward to this moment. He had tried to delay or prevent it for much of the previous day. He couldn't bear the thought of not seeing his friends again, especially Pikachu, the two of them were almost like brothers. However, he knew that Dawn was hurting a whole lot more, especially since she finally realised she loved a certain ebony-haired teen who had just left.

Dawn looked back out across the ocean, where the boat had disappeared over the horizon, wishing that it would somehow come back. She wished they'd all be together again, but her wishes turned to dust within her mind.

She thought back to two hours ago… when she had last saw her friends and the love of her life...

Sinnoh Region – Twinleaf Harbour, a few hours prior…

Ash, Dawn and Brock all solemnly walked towards the harbor, none of them thrilled about saying goodbye. They had spent the last two years traveling together throughout Sinnoh, and had experienced some amazing things, things most people only dream about or could think of in their wildest of fantasies.

Dawn was walking behind the group, dragging her feet. She had been dreading this moment all day for more than one reason. Yes, she was really upset that her traveling with Ash and Brock was over, but she'd come to realize that she had fallen in love with the raven-haired trainer and hadn't found the courage to tell him. Now he was leaving and would probably never know... It made her chest hurt every time she thought about it.

After the small walk from Dawn's house in Twinleaf Town, they finally arrived at the docks and the moment none of them wanted to face was finally upon them. "Kay... We're here." Ash said, finally looking back at Dawn.

"Ash... Brock... one thing. Thank you so much..." Dawn said, trying to put on a brave face, fighting back tears.

"No, thank you." Ash replied, giving her the smile she'd come to love so much.

"Yeah, thank you." Brock added, smiling warmly at her.

They all stared at one another, none of them knowing what to say next. Dawn's gaze wandered over to Ash's, where she looked deep into his auburn eyes as he stared into her sapphire blue ones. Unspoken words passed between them, and they could see the sorrow and longing in one another.

"Go... or you'll be late." Dawn finally said, breaking her eye contact with Ash, looking at her two closest friends, and stamping this moment into her memory.

"Right..." Ash said, feeling awfully sad.

"So..." Brock sighed, before walking towards to the ship.

"Pikaka." Pikachu spoke softly as they walked off.

"Wait a minute!" Dawn shouted after them.

"Huh, what's up?" Ash asked, with a confused look on his face.

Dawn smiled softly and raised her hand into the air.

Ash's face lit up upon recognizing what she wanted. He dropped his bags and ran over to her, slapping his hand on her own, performing their high-five for the final time. They left their hands together and looked at one another, lost in each other's eyes.

Brock smiled at the two, knowing what they didn't, but keeping it to himself.

Pikachu and Piplup imitated their trainer's actions, giving each other a high-five as well, although without the lingering romantic feelings.

After a couple of minutes, they reluctantly separated and blushed slightly, realizing their intimate moment was being viewed by their best friend and probably quite a few passersby. Ash and Brock finally turned around and walked up the ramp onto the boat which would take them back to Kanto and out of her life.

No longer in view of her friends, Dawn's brave facade slowly started to break and shatter, the tears that had been threatening to fall all day finally breaking through. She hung her head as she started to think about all the times they had spent together and how it was all over. Most of all she thought of Ash, how she felt about him and how now he would probably never even know. 'I'm so stupid for not saying anything' she mentally chastised herself.

Tears were running down her face, she looked up as Ash and Brock got to the back of the boat. They looked down seeing her, her head hung low and sobbing.

"Dawn!" Ash cried out.

She looked up, surprised, to see Ash hanging over the edge of the railings smiling and waving at her.

"No need to worry!" He called out, smiling like he always did.

She couldn't help but laugh at his use of the catchphrase, even at a time like this, he knew how to make her feel better. It was as though they were connected on more than just the physical world.

She started running after the boat as it slowly exited the harbor, "You guys take good care!"

"Pip Pip Pip Pipluuuup!" Piplup chirped beside her as they finally reached the end of the walkway.

"Ash, Pikachu, Brock, thanks for everything!" Dawn shouted back, the tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Piipluuuup, Piipluuup!" Her companion echoed.

Both Dawn and Piplup had tears flowing from their eyes as the waving forms of Ash and Brock slowly started to get smaller and smaller, disappearing into the distance.

Dawn kept waving until the boat was out of sight, and when it finally was, she sank to her knees, her facade finally shattering utterly.

Piplup put his flipper on her leg in a reassuring gesture, as she let out all the grief she held in, tears cascading down her face, pooling onto the concrete.

She was vaguely aware of people giving her looks as she sat there sobbing her eyes out, but she didn't care, all she wanted was to be with Ash and Brock again... to be with Ash again...

Sinnoh Region – Twinleaf Town, present day…

She opened her eyes as the fresh memory faded, still not wanting to accept reality. The sun had set, and it was starting to get cold, so she finally forced herself to stand on shaking legs. She started a slow walk back to her home.

Piplup looked up at his trainer. He'd never seen her this broken before. Not when she was on a losing streak in contests, not when Ursula used Plusle and Minun to embarrass her on a live contest stage. In fact, he couldn't think of any time he'd seen her this... depressed. He kept up with her but stayed silent, knowing she needed some time to think and get over it. He couldn't help but keep shooting her worried glances.

After an hour, the duo finally made it back to Twinleaf Town, and Dawn's home. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by the worried face of Dawn's mom, Johanna.

"Dawn dear, it's been four hours since you left, I was getting worried! The boat departed three hours ago! Where have you been?" Johanna said. She looked at her daughter and could see something was wrong. Dawn's normally chipper and happy demeanor was gone.

Greeted with silence, she decided to push the issue further.

"Dawn, dear, what's wrong? What happened?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Dawn shouted. Without even taking off her boots, she stormed upstairs, tears clearly building in the corners of her eyes.

"Pipluup…" Sighed Dawn's starter as he looked up the stairs where his trainer had gone.

Johanna followed his gaze, mimicking his concern. She had a feeling what this was about. She saw Ash and her daughter give each other obvious signals when they were here before they left, and they seemed to have gotten rather close...

Motherly instincts taking over, she decided to go have a talk with her daughter. After all she couldn't leave her alone in a state like that!

When she reached Dawn's room, she could hear the slight sound of sobbing from within, and slowly opened the door. What greeted her eyes was exactly what she'd expected.

Dawn was curled up on her bed with her head buried in her pillow, already wet with tears. Slowly she walked over to her and sat down gently beside her, beginning to stroke her daughter's hair.

Dawn turned her head from her pillow and looked up, before embracing her mother in a hug, needing the comfort and reassurance only she could give. She held her tight, sobbing into her arms.

"Dawn sweetie, can you tell me what's wrong?" Johanna asked, concern lacing every word.

Dawn nodded, slowly drying her puffy red eyes with the back of her hand. "M-Mom... H-he's g-gone..." She managed to get out in-between sobs

Johanna decided to see if her earlier suspicions were correct. "Who do you mean sweetie? Ash?"

"Y-yeah! It hurts so much to see h-him leave…! Mom... I-I... I lo..." Dawn said, before beginning another sobbing fit and falling into her mother's arms.

Johanna, suspicions confirmed, held her daughter all the tighter. Oh Dawn, it'll be ok."

"But what if I never see him again! I never even got to tell him how I felt!" She stopped to breathe in between her sobs, "Mom… It hurts so much..."

The older bluenette sighed, pulling her daughter further into her hug. She slowly stroked her hair to calm her down.

She should have realized her Dawn was in love with Ash. When they had to inevitably part ways, this was bound to happen, but what could she have done? Ash had to go back to Kanto at some point, the only solution would be to have Dawn go with him, but with the unfortunately timed Pokémon fashion job offer, that wouldn't be an option either.

They stayed there like that for several minutes. When she finally heard Dawn stop crying, she looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. Gently, she lifted her head up and rested it down onto the bed, before pulling the covers over her daughter's sleeping form.

Johanna sighed and left the room, wondering just what Dawn was going to do about her conflicting emotions. Her daughter's choices worried her greatly, but there was nothing she could do. She resolved to leave it all to her. After all the travelling and growing she'd done over the last year, it was no longer her place to act on her daughter's behalf. She was a young woman now and deserved the respect of one.

In her room, Dawn was dreaming. She and Ash were traveling together again. They were battling through an unknown region, and they were happy. They were alone, together, and they both loved each other dearly.

A smile crossed her face as tears fells down her sleeping cheeks. It was the first genuine smile she'd had since their walk to the harbour together hours ago…

Next Chapter: Feelings and Unova

The next chapter will focus a lot more on Ash and will help set things up for where I want to go

I personally think this is rather short but it's just the opening chapter so I'm satisfied.

Hope you enjoyed it and ill be adding the second chapter fairly soon and update as regularly as possible!

Peace out.